Chiefly on Hindu temples in Kancheepuram District, India.

Kanchi, the ancient capital city of the South, teems with historic temples of great beauty and grandeur. The magnificent temple of Lord Varadaraja, situated in Vishnu-Kanchi, has played a remarkable part in fostering the growth of Sri-Vaishnavism and has justly been ranked with the famous temples of Srirangam and Tirupati as the holiest of the holies. This is the first comprehensive and illustrated treatise on this hoary temple, focusing attention of the various aspects like the origin and the growth of the temple, critical review of the temple traditions, the role of the temple in the growth of Sri-Vaishnavism, the association of the acharyas like Ramanuja with the temple, besides the pivotal role the temple has played in the social and cultural life of the community. The vast literature that has grown round the temple and the five hundred and odd inscriptions that crowd the wall-spaces of the shrines provide a sumptuous source material for this study. One of the largest temple complexes of South India, the temple presents interesting variety of architectural and sculptural styles of different schools. The temple is particularly rich in Vaishnava iconography. The book provides a detailed study and interpretation of these features with the help of hitherto unpublished photographs and drawings. The book also brings to light the presence of fine paintings of the Vijayanagar times that are found in the dark cloister around the sanctum. The book is a distinct contribution to the field of historical and architectural studies of ancient Indian temples.

Stone figures hardened by ascetic discipline and heroic effort face north in deep shadow. There they meet the gazes of the same gods and goddesses but with gentler bodies enacting grace, warmth, seduction, and marriage, drenched in sunlight, facing south. These figures adorn the eighth-century Kailasanatha temple complex in southeastern India, built by rulers who were both warriors and ascetics, engaged in the work of this world and in spiritual quests. They designed their temple as an exuberant visual feast to sustain both modes of being. In Opening Kailasanatha, Padma Kaimal deciphers the intentions of the monument’s makers, reaching back across centuries to illuminate worldviews of the ancient Indic south. She reveals how circling the complex in a clockwise direction focuses the mind and spirit on worldly engagement; in a counterclockwise direction, on renunciation and ascetic practice. This pairing of highly charged, complementary pathways enabled devotees to grasp these counterpoised opportunities in their own listening, gazing, moving bodies. By focusing on the material form of the complex—the architecture, inscriptions, and sculptures, along with the spaces they carve out that guide light, shadow, sound, and footsteps—Kaimal offers insights that complement what surviving texts tell us about Shaiva Siddhanta ideas and practices, providing a rare opportunity to walk in the distant past.

This book traces the emergence of the South Indian city of Kanchi as a major royal capital and multireligious pilgrimage destination during the era of the Pallava and Chola dynasties (circa seventh through thirteenth centuries). It presents the first-ever comprehensive picture of historical Kanchi, locating the city and its more than 100 spectacular Hindu temples at the heart of commercial and artistic exchange that spanned India, Southeast Asia, and China. The author demonstrates that Kanchi was structured with a hidden urban plan, which determined the placement and orientation of temples around a central thoroughfare that was also a burgeoning pilgrimage route. Moving outwards from the city, she shows how the transportation networks, river systems, residential enclaves, and agrarian estates all contributed to the vibrancy of Kanchi's temple life. The construction and ongoing renovation of temples in and around the city, she concludes, has enabled Kanchi to thrive continuously from at least the eighth century, through the colonial period, and up until the present.

Accessible to general reader, derived from the original The Body of God Sculptures are thoroughly discussed and accompanied with related stories Dr D Dennis Hudson's path-breaking book presents his extraordinary interpretation of the Vaikunta Perumal Temple in Kanchipuram as a three-dimensional mandala. His insight, based on Tirumangai Alvar's poetry and a close study of the Bhagavata Purana, illuminates layers of meaning embodied in the architecture and sculpture of his temple. This volume is a 'summary interpretation' for the general reader, of a larger academic work entitled The Body of God, published in the US. It is the inspired response of a scholar who has been passionately involved with his subject for several decades.

This is a heritage book which takes readers on a spiritual voyage of legends, mythology, saints, temples and dynasties. It presents vignettes of India’s rich cultural background. As one of the seven mokshapuris (centers of salvation) and the nerve-centre of vedic schools, Kanchipuram has always been a role model. Adi Sankaracharya, brought religious renaissance in the country by providing a new meaning to sanatana dharma. He established the KanchiKamakotipeetham which continues to be a center of learning and devotion. The town is credited with having around one thousand temples at one time. While Pallava rulers built most of these temples, these were extensively renovated later by Cholan and Vijayanagara kings. Exhaustive Annexures about the various rules and dynasties are also provided. The book is amply illustrated with maps and photographs, which will be of great interest to general readers and to tourists and pilgrims in particular.